The present invention relates to a circulation management system by which consumers can purchase commodities or receive services using circulation medium which has a function equivalent to a certain amount of money by adding an identification code.
Recently an automated teller machine (hereafter ATM) which mechanically executes withdrawals, deposits and money transfers at a bank to make these operations efficient is widely used.
To install such an ATM, a storage means for storing the account number, balance of deposits and the code number of the user is disposed in the host computer of the bank, a card reader for reading the account number stored on the cash card is disposed in the ATM, and the ATM and the host computer are connected through lines. If the user inserts a cash card into the card reader of the ATM to make a withdrawal, for example, the ATM transmits the account number read from the cash card to the host computer of the bank, and prompts the user to input the code number via a keypad. Then it is judged whether the code number which was input via the keypad and the code number associated with the account number stored in the storage means of the host computer are the same, and if they are the same, the user is regarded as genuine and the input for the amount of the withdrawal is prompted, and if the amount input via the keypad is within the balance of deposits, cash for the input amount is paid out.
As an additional function of the ATM, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-263726 states of disposing means for issuing various tickets, such as airline tickets, reserved seat tickets of a railroad, boarding tickets and movie/concert tickets from an ATM, so as to purchase such tickets on the spot.
In the above stated ATM which has a cash payment function, however, a predetermined amount of cash must always be stocked in the ATM, and particularly when cash cannot be replenished due to a holiday when teller windows are closed, a large amount of cash is stocked on the day before. So, recently many crimes involving destruction of an ATM the night before a holiday where stocked cash is stolen are frequently occurring. Also, even on a day other than a holiday, cash must be replenished each time cash in the ATM becomes low, and this operation is complicated. Also, cash stocked in an ATM sits idle and cannot be used effectively.
Also, with the current circulation system based on cash, a large amount of cash, such as proceeds, must be managed by the store, which is not good for crime prevention, and the user is not insured when money is lost.
So recently, circulation systems based on credit transactions using credit cards is becoming popular, and circulation systems using electronic money are also being constructed, but for both cases, safety problems related to illegal use have not yet been solved.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a circulation system which is useful for three parties: a bank, a user and a store, improving safety against illegal use.
An embodiment of the present invention is circulation management system that has a host computer of a bank for managing the balance of deposits for each account, circulation medium issuing means connected to the host computer through communication lines for issuing a circulation medium having a function equivalent to a predetermined amount of money by assigning an identification code within the limit of the balance of deposits of a user, and a terminal installed at a store coupled with the bank, which has a function to read an identification code assigned to the circulation medium, the terminal is connected to the host computer through communication lines, and has a transmission function to transmit the read identification code of the circulation medium to the host computer, characterized in that the host computer additionally has identification code storage means for storing the assigned identification code of the circulation medium, withdrawal means for withdrawing an amount of money equivalent to the issued circulation medium from the account of the user, judgment means for collating the identification code transmitted from the terminal and the identification code stored in the identification code storage means and judging whether the circulation medium with the identification code is genuine, money transfer means for transferring an amount of money equivalent to the circulation medium to the account of an origination store when the circulation medium is genuine, and used code management means for managing the identification codes of the used circulation medium.
To issue the circulation medium, which functions just like money, in this circulation management system, the issuance of the circulation medium is directed by controlling the circulation medium issuing means of the bank. At this time, the host computer of the bank issues the circulation medium for the requested amount by adding the identification code within the limit of the balance of deposits of the user, withdraws the amount according to the issued circulation medium from the account of the user, and stores the identification code of the issued circulation medium in the identification code storage means.
To use the circulation medium at a store which is coupled with the bank, the user purchases a desired commodity by giving this circulation medium to the clerk just like cash. At this time, the clerk transmits the identification code to the host computer of the bank by passing the circulation medium through the terminal installed at the store, so as to confirm that the received circulation medium is genuine. When the host computer of the bank receives the identification code from the store in this way, the judgment means of the host computer collates the received identification code and the identification code stored in the identification code storage means of the host computer, and judges whether the circulation medium is genuine. If the circulation medium is genuine, the amount equivalent to the circulation medium is transferred to the account of the transmission origination store by the money transfer means of the host computer, and the identification code of the circulation medium is managed and the genuineness of the circulation medium is verified for the store by the used code management means.
In this way, the bank can merely stock the circulation medium, which is only a piece of paper without the identification code, and does not have to stock cash in the circulation medium issuing means, which is desirable in terms of crime prevention. Also, cash is not paid from the circulation medium issuing means, so compared with the case where a large amount of cash stocked, like the case of a cash automatic teller machine, cash can be managed more efficiently. The identification code of a used circulation medium is managed by the used code management means, so a used circulation medium cannot be illegally used, and even if the identification code is altered, the circulation medium cannot be used unless its identification code matches the identification code stored in the identification code storage means. Therefore, safety against illegal use is insured.
Even if a user loses the circulation medium, the user can notify the identification code of the circulation medium, which the user wrote down, to the bank so as to prevent the use of the circulation medium or to have the bank insure an amount equivalent to the circulation medium. Also, by registering the identification code of the circulation medium in the host computer, a criminal who uses the circulation medium illegally at a store can be apprehended.
For a store, the circulation medium is passed through the terminal and an amount equivalent to the circulation medium is immediately paid into the account of the store if the circulation medium is genuine. There is no need to store cash, such as proceeds, in the store, which is desirable in terms of crime prevention. Even if an illegal circulation medium circulates, the host computer of the bank manages the circulation medium, so the store is free from liability.
Such a circulation medium, which can be created with such inexpensive material as paper, can be used only once without being used repeatedly like a credit card and electronic money, so, potential illegal use can be decreased and safety against illegal use can be improved. Since the circulation medium is issued on the basis of the deposits of the user, and is not issued in excess of the balance of deposits, voluntary bankruptcy due to unreasonable loans can clearly be prevented.
Additionally, the used code management means may delete the identification code of the used circulation medium from the identification code storage means, or move the used identification code to a storage area other than the identification code storage means or mark the used identification code within the identification code storage means. A possible illegal use of a circulation medium is to alter the used circulation medium for reuse. Deleting the used identification code by the used code management means is preferable in terms of using the memory of the host computer effectively. However, the history of the altered circulation medium cannot be known, so it is preferable to move the used identification code to another storage area or to mark the used identification code. To use memory more efficiently, the used identification code may be deleted after a predetermined period of time elapses.
Further, it is preferable that a printed matter, identical to the circulation medium without the identification code, is used as a circulation medium to be stored in the circulation medium issuing means. It is possible to print all the printed parts of the circulation medium within the circulation medium issuing means by a color printer built into the circulation medium issuing means, but with this configuration, issuing a circulation medium takes time and the unit price of the circulation medium becomes high, so it is preferable to use a printed matter where parts other than the identification code printing part have been printed in advance.
Additionally, a plurality of types of circulation media with different face values, similar to paper currency, may be used. In the case of Japanese currency, for example, it is preferable to use a plurality of types of circulation medium, corresponding to common bills, such as 1000 Yen, 5000 Yen and 10000 Yen.
Further, it is preferable that the circulation medium issuing means is incorporated into the automatic teller machines of the bank. Since an automatic teller machine has a cash card reader, code number input means and display means, the circulation medium issuing means can be created inexpensively by sharing this equipment. Also, an increase in the number of users of the circulation medium decreases the cash to be stored in an automatic teller machine, so cash which was once stocked can be effectively used, and crime prevention can also be improved.
Still further, it is possible to dispose recording paper output means for printing or magnetically storing the identification code of the issued circulation medium in the circulation medium issuing means. In this case, when a circulation medium is lost, the identification code of the lost circulation medium can easily be checked from the recorded content of the recording paper.
Also, alarming means for alerting a clerk when the circulation medium passes through the terminal, and is judged as not genuine by the judgment means, may be disposed in the terminal. With this configuration, use of an illegal circulation medium can easily be checked, and apprehending a user who used the illegal circulation medium is also possible.
Further, collection means for collecting a used circulation medium may be disposed in the terminal. Illegal use of a used circulation medium is almost impossible since the identification code is managed by the used code management means of the host computer of the bank, but the possibility for illegal use still remains, so it is preferable to collect the used circulation medium by a collecting means so as to be disposed or managed by the bank.